MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

(891)

ASSIGTNMENT NO.1

ROLL NO.AD-512126
Question No.1(a)
Describe the three vital roles that information systems perform for a business enterprise? Support your
answer with examples.
Ans.
Information technology (IT) refers to the management and use of information using computer-based
tools. It includes acquiring, processing, storing, and distributing information. Most commonly it is a
term used to refer to business applications of computer technology, rather than scientific applications.
The term is used broadly in business to refer to anything that ties into the use of computers.
Mostly businesses today create data that can be stored and processed on computers. In some cases the
data must be input to computers using devices such as keyboards and scanners. In other cases the data
might be created electronically and automatically stored in computers.
Small businesses generally need to purchase software packages, and may need to contract with IT
businesses that provide services such as hosting, marketing web sites and maintaining networks.
However, larger companies can consider having their own IT staffs to develop software, and otherwise
handle IT needs in-house. For instance, businesses working with the federal government are likely to
need to comply with requirements relating to making information accessible.
The constant upgrade in information technology, along with increasing global competition, is adding
difficulty and hesitation of several orders of scale to the business and trade. One of the most widely
discussed areas in recent business literature is that of new organizational network structures that hold
survival and growth in an environment of growing complexity.
Effective implementation of information technology would decrease liability by reducing the cost of
expected failures and increase flexibility by reducing the cost of adjustment. The businesses reaction to
the environment remains to be the vital determinant for its effectiveness. The capabilities and
flexibilities of computer-communication systems make them gradually more appropriate to businesses
by being able to respond to any specific information or communication requirement.
Information Technology is having impact on all trade industries and businesses, in service as well as in
manufacturing. It is affecting workers at all levels of organizations, from the executives to middle
management and clerks. Information technology is increasingly becoming a basic factor of all types of
technologies such as craft, engineering, routine, and non-routine.
The advances in Information Technology would result in remarkable decline in the costs of
synchronization that would lead to new, concentrated business structures. It enables the business to
respond to the new and urgent competitive forces by providing effective management of
interdependence.
In the near future businesses would be facing a lack and a redundancy of information called
information glut. To solve the information-glut companies will need to introduce methods for selective
thinning out of information. Improvements in telecommunications will make it easier to control
business units dispersed over different parts of the world. Advances in telecommunications, would
result in increased distance-communication. Indirect communication would be preferred for well-
structured information for routine, reprogrammed and decision processes.
There are six reasons or objectives why businesses use information system:
Operational Excellence.
Business improves the efficiency of their operations in order to achieve higher levels of efficiency and
productivity in business operations. A good examples is Walt-Mart that uses a Retail Link systems,
which digitally links its suppliers to every one of Wal-Mart,s stores soon as a customers purchase an
items the supplier is monitoring the items , knows to ship a replacement to the self.
Now Product,services, and business models.
Information system is a major tool for firms to create new products and services, and also an entirely
news business models. A business model describes how a company produces, delivers, and sells a
product or services to create wealth. Example: apple Inc transformed an old business model basso on
its iPod technology platform that included Ipod, the iTunes music service, and the phone.
Customer/ supplier intimacy.
When a business serves its customer well, the customers generally respond by returning and purchasing
more. This raises revenue and profits. The more a business engages its suppliers, the better the
suppliers can provide vital inputs.
Example:The Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan and other high-end hotels exemplify the use of
information systems and technology to achieve customer intimacy.
They use computers to keep track of guestspreferences, such as their preferred room temperature,
check-in time,and television programs.
Improved Decsion making
Many managers operate in an information bank,never having the right information at the right time to
make an informed decision.
These poor outcomes raise costs and lose customers. Information system made it possible for the
managers to use real time data from the marketplace when making decision.
Example: Verizon corporation uses a Web based digital dashboard to provide managers with precise
real-time information on customer complains, network performance.. Using this information manager
can immediately allocate repair resources to affected areas, inform customer of repair efforts and
restore service fast.
Competitive advantage.
When firms achieve one or more of these business objectives(operational excellence,new
products,services, and business models,customers/supplier intimacy, and improved decision making)
chances are they have already achieved a competitive advantage things better tan your competitors,
charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and suppliers in real time all add up
to higher sales, and higher profits.
Examples:Nissan Production systems focuses on organizing work to eliminate waste, making continues
improvement,Nissan is based on what customer have actually ordered.
Day to day survival.
Business firms invest in information system and technology because necessities of doing business. This
necessity is driven by industry level changes.
Example. Habib Bank introduced the first automatic teller machine to attract customer through higher
service levels, and competitors rushed to provide ATM,s to their customer to keep up with Habib
Bank. Information system is the foundation for conducting business today. In many industries,
survival and even existences without extensive use of IT is inconceivable, and IT plays a vital role in
increasing productivity. Although information technology has become more of a commodity, when
coupled with complementary changes in organization and management,it can provide the foundation
for new products, service, and ways of conducting business that Provide firms with strategic
advantage.

Q1(b)
Define the following and give and example for each:
1 Ans 1)Batch Processing Definition

As most computer users know, some computing tasks can be tedious and repetitive. Fortunately, if a
task is indeed repetitive, a batch process can be used to automate much of the work.

A batch process performs a list of commands in sequence. It be run by a computer's operating system
using a script or batch file, or may be executed within a program using a macro or internal scripting
tool. For example, an accountant may create a script to open several financial programs at once, saving
him the hassle of opening each program individually. This type of batch process would be executed by
the operating system, such as Windows or the Mac OS. A Photo shop user, on the other hand, might
use a batch process to modify several images at one time. For example, she might record an action
within Photo-shop that re sizes and crops an image. Once the action has been recorded, she can batch
process a folder of images, which will perform the action on all the images in the folder.

Batch processing can save time and energy by automating repetitive tasks. While it may take awhile to
write the script or record the repetitive actions, doing it once is certainly better than having to do it
many times

Batch Processing Examples

batch processing enables work to be done simultaneously whilst the workers are able to play football in
the courtyard whilst production is taking place. this can occur in the workplace and is highly
recommended to anyone who wishes to try this.

An example of batch processing is the way that credit card companies process billing. The customer
does not receive a bill for each separate credit card purchase but one monthly bill for all of that month's
purchases. The bill is created through batch processing, where all of the data are collected and held
until the bill is processed as a batch at the end of the billing cycle.

A batch processing system is one where programs and data are collected together in a batch before
processing starts.
Each piece of work for a batch processing system is called a job. A job usually consists of a program
and the data to be run.
Jobs are stored in job queues until the computer is ready to process them.
There is no interaction between the user and the computer while the program is being run. Computers
which do batch processing often operate at night.
Example : Payroll - when a company calculates the wages for its workforce and prints payslips.
Systems.

A system is a collection of elements or components that are organized for a common purpose. The
word sometimes describes the organization or plan itself (and is similar in meaning to method, as in "I
have my own little system") and sometimes describes the parts in the system (as in "computer
system").
A computer system consists of hardware components that have been carefully chosen so that they work
well together and software components or programs that run in the computer.
The main software component is itself an operating system that manages and provides services to other
programs that can be run in the computer.
A filing system is a group of files organized with a plan (for example, alphabetical by customer).
All of nature and the universe can be said to be a system. We've coined a word, ecosystem, for the
systems on Earth that affect life systems.
The term can be very useful because so many things can be described as systems. It can also be very
unuseful when a more specific term is nee

(2)Online (real-time) processing

In real time (or online) processing, data processes/updates immediately after a transactions occur. For
example, airline or railways online reservation systems are familiar example of real time processing.
As soon as a seat is sold on a flight/train for instance, the flight? or train? remaining seat count is
updated immediately so that all agents using the system will know exactly how many seats are left.
Point of sale (POS) systems at retail stores may use electronic cash register terminals to capture and
transmit sales data over telecommunication links to regional computer centers for immediate (real
time).
Procedures: Procedures are the policies that govern the operation of a computer system. For instance,
the steps that must be taken to enter a password and log on to a computer terminal are a procedure. The
actions needed to restore the computer system to tis operational state after major power failures are an
other example of a procedure. Procedures often specify the actions that people should take in a step-by-
step manner.

Q.2(a) 1. Diagnose the situation critically and list the types of information each store manager
requires.
Ans. TYPES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
An information system is a collection of hardware, data, people and procedures that are designed to
generate information that supports the day-today, sho9rt-raange, and long-range activities of users in
an

organization. Information systems generally are classified into five categories:

Office information systems, Transaction Processing systems, ,management Information

systems,Decision support systems, and expert systems,The following sections present each of these
information systems.
1)Office Information Systems.
2)An office Information system, or OIS (pronounced oh-eye-eds) is an information system that uses
hardware, software and networks to enhance work flow and facilitate communications among
employee an office information system, also described as office automation: employee perform tasks
electronically using computers and other electronics devices,instead of manually, with an office
information system, for example, a registration department might post the class schedule on the
internet and e-mail students when the schedule is update,In a manual system, the registration
department would photocopy the schedule and mail it to each student,s house
3)an office information system supports a range of business office activities such as creating and
distributing graphics and /or documents, sending messages, scheduling , and accounting. All levels of
users from executive management to nonmanagement employees utilize and benefit from the features
of an OIS.
4)The software an office information system uses to support these activities include word
processing,spreadsheets, databases, presentation graphics, email,web browsers, web page
authoring,personal information management,and groupware ,office information use communications
technology such as voice mail,facsimile(fax),videoconferencing, and electronic data interchange (EDI)
for the electronic exchange of text, graphics, audio, and video, and office information system also uses
a variety of hardware, including computers quipped with modems, video cameras, speakers, and
microphones; scanners; and fax machines.
5)Transaction Processing Systems.
6)A Transaction processing system is an information system that captures and processes data generated
during an organization's day-to day transactions. A transaction is a business activity such as a deposit,
payment, order or reservation.
7)Clerical staff typing perform the activities associated with translation processing. Which include the
following:
8)i) Recording a business activity such as a student's registration, a customer's order., an employee's
time card or a client's payment.
9)Confirming an action or triggering a response, such as printing a student's schedule, sending a thank-
you note to a customer, generating an employee's paycheck or issing a receipt to a client.
10)Maintaining data, which involve adding new data, changing existing data, or removing unwanted
data.
11)Transing processing system were among the first computerized systems developed to process
business data-a function originally called data processing. Usually TPS computerized an existing
manual system to allow for faster processing reduced clerical costs and improved customer service.

The first transaction processing systems usually used batch processing. With batch
processing,transaction data is collected over a period of time and all transaction are processed later, as
a group. As computers became more powerful, system developers built online transaction processing
systems.
With online transaction processing(OLTP) the computer processes transactions as they are unentered
you register for classes, your school probably uses OLTP. The registration administrative assistant
enters you desired schedule and the computer immediately prints your statement of classes. The
invoices, however,often are printed using batch processing, meaning all student invoices are print and
mailed at a later date.
Today, most transaction processing system use online transaction processing.some routine processing
tasks such as calculating paychecks or printing invoices, however, are performed more effectively on a
batch basis these activities, many organizations still use batch processing techniques.
Iii) Management Information Systems
While computer were ideal for routine transaction processing, manager soon realized that the
computer,capability of performing rapid calculations and data comparisons could produce meaningful
information for management.
Management information system thus evolved out of translation processing systems.
A management information system, or MIS (Pronounced em-eye-es), is an information system that
generates accurate, timely and organized information so managers and other users can make decision,
solve problems, supervise activities, and track progress. Because it generates reports report on a regular
basis, a management information system sometimes is called a management reporting system.
Management information systems often are integrated with transaction processing systems to process a
sales order, for example, the transaction processing system records the sale, updates the customer's
account balance, and makes a deduction from inventory. Using this information, the related
management information system can produce reports that recap daily sales activities ; list with past due
account balance; graph slow or fast selling products: and highlight inventory items that need
recordering.
A management information system focuses on generating information that management and other users
need to perform their jobs.
An MIS generate three basic types of information: detailed, summary and exception. Detailed
information typically confirms transaction processing activities. A Detailed Order s an example of a
detail report
exception information filters data to report information that is outside of a normal condition. These
conditions, called the exception criteria, define the rage of what is considered normal activity or status.
An example of an exception report is an inventory Exception Report is an inventory Exception report
that notifies the purchasing department of items it needs to reorder. Exception reports help managers
save time because they do not have to search through a detailed report for exceptions. Insted, an
exception report brings exceptions to the manager's attention in an easily identifiable from. Exception

reports thus help them focus on situations that require immediate decisions or actions.
iv)Decision support Systems
Transaction processing and management information systems provide information on a regular basis.
Frequently, however users need information not provided in these reports to help them make decision
sales manager, for example, might need to determine how high to set yearly sales quotas based on
increased sales and lowered product costs. Decision support systems help provide information to
support such decisions.
A decision support system (DSS) is an information system designed to help users reach a decision
when a decision-making situation arises.
A variety of DSSs exist to help with a range of decisions.
A Decision support system uses data from internal and /or external sources.
Internal sources of data might include sales, manufacturing, inventory, or financial data from an
organization's database. Data from external sources could include interest rates, population trends, and
costs of new housing construction or raw material pricing. Users of a DSS, often managers, can
manipulate the data used in the DSS to help with decisions.
Some decision support systems include query language, statistical analysis capabilities, spreadsheets,
and graphics that help you extract data and evaluate the results. Some decision support system also
include capabilities that allow you to create a model of the factors affecting a decision. A simple model
for determine the best product price, for example, would include factors for the expected sales volume
at each price level.with the model, you can ask what-if questions by changing one or more of the
factors and viewing the projected results. Many people use application software packages to perform
DSS functions. Using spreadsheet software, for example,you can complete simple modeling tasks or
what-if scenarios.
A special types of DS, called an executive information system (EIS), is designed to support the
information needs of executive management in an EIS is charts and tables that show trends, ratios, and
other managerial statistics. Because executives usually focus on strategic issues, IS rely on external
data sources such as the Dow Jones news/Retrieval services or the internet. These external data source
can provide current information on interest rates, commodity prices, and other leading economic
indicators.
To store all the necessary decision making data DSSs or EIS often use extremely large databases,
called data whorehouses .a data warehouse stores and manages the data required to analyze historical
and current business circumstances.
V )Expert System
An expert system is an information system that captures and stores the knowledge of human experts

and then imitates human reasoning and decision-making processes for those who have less expertise.
Expert system are composed of two main components: a knowledge base and inference rules. A
knowledge base is the combined subject knowledge and experiences of the human experts. The
inference rules are a set of logical judgments applied to to the knowledge base each time a user

describes a situation to the expert system.

Although expert systems can help decision-making at any level in an organization, non-management
employees are the primary users who utilize them to help with job-related decisions. Expert system
also successfully have resolved such diverse problems as diagnosing illnesses, searching for oil and
making soup.
Expert systems are one part of an exciting branch of computer science called artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the application of human intelligence to computerate technology can
sense your actions and , based on logical assumptions and prior experiences, will take the appropriate
action to complete the task.
All has a variety of capabilities, including speech recognition, logical reasoning and creative responses.
Experts predict that AI eventually will be incorporated into most computer systems and many
individual software applications. Many word processing programs already include speech recognition.
Integrated Information Systems with today's sophisticated hardware, software and communications
technologies, it often is difficult to classify a system as belonging uniquely to one of the five
information system types discussed. Much of today's application software supports transaction
processing and generates management information. Other applications provide transaction processing,
management information, and decision support.
Although expert systems still operate primarily as separate systems, organizations increasingly are
consolidating their information need into a single, integrated information system.

Q.2(b)What is prototyping approach of system development? Explain the process of prototyping

in detail and discuss the advantages of using prototyping approach.
Ans.
Software prototyping, refers to the activity of creating prototypes of software applications, i.e.,
incomplete versions of the software program being developed. It is an activity that occurs during
certain software development and is comparable to prototyping as known from other fields, such as
mechanical engineering or manufacturing.
A prototype typically simulates only a few aspects of the features of the eventual program, and may be
completely different from the eventual implementation.
The conventional purpose of a prototype is to allow users of the software to evaluate developers'
proposals for the design of the eventual product by actually trying them out, rather than having to
interpret and evaluate the design based on descriptions. Prototyping can also be used by end users to
describe and prove requirements that developers have not considered, so "controlling the prototype"
can be a key factor in the commercial relationship between developers and their clients .
Prototyping has several benefits: The software designer and implementer can obtain feedback from the
users early in the project. The client and the contractor can compare if the software made matches the
software specification, according to which the software program is built. It also allows the software
engineer some insight into the accuracy of initial project estimates and whether the deadlines and
milestones proposed can be successfully met. The degree of completeness and the techniques used in
the prototyping have been in development and debate since its proposal in the early 1970s

This process is in contrast with the 1960s and 1970s monolithic development cycle of building the
entire program first and then working out any inconsistencies between design and implementation,

which led to higher software costs and poor estimates of time and cost. The monolithic approach has
been dubbed the "Slaying the (software) Dragon" technique, since it assumes that the software designer
and developer is a single hero who has to slay the entire dragon alone. Prototyping can also avoid the
great expense and difficulty of changing a finished software product.
The conventional purpose of a prototype is to allow users of the software to evaluate develop proposals
for the design of the eventual product by actually trying them out, rather than having interpret and
evaluate the design based on descriptions. Prototyping can also be used by end users to describe an
prove requirements that developers have not considered, so ?ontrolling the prototyping ?anbe a key
factor in the commercial relationship between solution providers and their clients.
Dimensions of Prototypes
Horizontal Prototype
A common term for a user interface prototype is the Horizontal prototype provides a board view of
an entire system or subsystem, focusing on user interaction more than low-level system functionality,
such as database access. Horizontal prototypes are useful fro:
•Confirmation of user interface requirements and systems scope
•demonstration version of the system to obtain buy-in from the business.
•Develop preliminary estimates of development time, cost and effort.
•Vertical prototype
•A vertical prototype is a more complete elaboration of a single subsystem or funcation.it is useful for
obtaining detailed requirements for a given function,with the following benefits:
•Refinement database design
•Obtain information on data volumes and system interface needs, for network sizing and performance
engineering
•Clarifies complex requirement by drilling down to actual system functionality
Not exactly the same as Throwaway Prototyping,but certainly in the same family, is the usage of
storyboards, animators or drawings. These are non-functional implementations but show how the
system will look.
Types of Prototyping
Software prototyping has many variants. However , all the methods are in some way based on two
major types of prototyping Throwaway Prototyping and Evolutionary Prototyping
Throwaway Prototyping
Also called close ended prototyping. Throwaway or Rapid Prototyping refers to the creation of a model
that will eventually be discarded rather than becoming part of the final delivered software. After
preliminary requirements gathering is accomplished, a simple working model of the system is
constructed to visually show the users what their requirements may look like when they are
implemented into a finished system.
Rapid Prototyping involved crating creating a working model of various parts of the system at a very

early stage, after a relatively sort investigation. The method used in building it is usually quite
informal, the most after a relatively short investigation. The method used in building it is usually quite
informal, the most important factor being the speed with which the model is provided. The model then
becomes the starting point from which users can re-examine their exceptions and clarity their
requirements. When this has been achieved, the prototyping model is thrown away, and the system is
formally developed based on the identified requirements.
The most obvious reason for using throwaway Prototyping is that it can be done quickly. If the users
can get quick feedback on their requirements, they may be able to refine them early in the development
of the software. Making changing early in the development lifecycle is extremely cost effective since
there is noting at that point to redo. If a project is changed after a considerable work has been done
then small changes could require large efforts to implement since software systems have many
dependencies. Speed is crucial in implementing a throwaway prototype, since with a limited budget of
time and money little can be expended on a prototype that will be discarded.
It is asserted that revolutionary rapid prototyping is a more effective manner in which to deal with user
requirements-related issues, and therefore a greater enhancement to software productivity requirements
can be identified, simulated, and tested far more quickly and cheaply when issues of evolvability,
maintainability, and software structure are ignored. This, in turn, leads to the accurate specification of
requirements and the subsequent construction of a valid and usable system from the user's perspective
via conventional software development models.
Not exactly the same as Throwaway Prototyping, but certainly in the same family, is the usage of
storyboards, animations or drawings. These are non-functional implementations but show how the
system will look.
Advantages of Prototyping
There are many advantages to using prototyping in software development-some tangible,some abstract
Reduced time and costs:
Prototyping can improve the quality of requirements and specifications provided to developers.
Because changes cost exponentially more to implements as they are detected later in development, the
early determination of what the user really wants can result in faster and less expensive software.
Improved and increased user involvement:
Prototyping requires user involvement and allows them to see and interact with a prototype allowing
them to provide better and more complete feedback and specifications. The presence of the prototype
being examined by the users prevents many misunderstanding and miscommunications that occurs
when each side believe the other understands what they said.since users know the problem domain
better than tangible and intangible quality.

Q.3 (a) Select any functional area (e.g. finance ,human resources, marketing, etc.) within any
large organization (such as the government or a bank) and then describe the business function
and the major process an procedure within that functional area. Also discuss what MIS exit to
support the areas.
Ans. Human resource management (HRM) has long been overlooked in the corporate sector in the
country where a small section section, comprising mostly the multinational companies was practicing
the same.with the growing with realization of proper HRM in the corporate sector,it has grown into an
important activity. Now the head of HRM is an important member of of the senior teams of the any
thriving business.

Although the idea is new for many local business where entrepreneurs are at the beginning of the
learning curve yet in reality the theme is getting support from the organized entrepreneurs.
The banking sector has grown from a few institutions primarily involved in deposit acceptance and
trade finance into a complex multi player markets where large number of commercial bank, financial
institutions and specialized bank are operating with various products and activities.
The banking has become a complex activity within the financial market linked directly and indirectly
with an over-all national growth and its impact as an integral part of regional segment of a global
banking environmental eery bank and financial institution is involved in various functions in a day's
job and thus requires a highly effective team and appropriate manpower to run the show.corporate

goals are translated into viable realities and profits only with human element that play their due role in
achieving the desired results.
Thus even the high automation would require proper man behind the machine to make things happen.
This idea has been realized by top management in progressive banks. Like many other organized
sectors, banking requires multi player manpower for its various requirements of professionals and

support. The range may require reasonably educated security guard on the one end and highly educate
and trained professional as head of corporate finance at the other.
With liberalization of activities within the banking sector, for example, more emphasis on consumer
and house finance and personal loans,banking has turned itself into a more market-based business
where banks have expanded their reach more to customers door step in a big way making banking
more practical. This has further highlighted the need for proper deployment of mam-power to run
banks efficiently.
For many many years, HRM banks like other institutions have been handling this sensitive activity
through respective personnel departments. This means human resources were managed like other
physical assets respective.
Recruitment was a routine function and was done in a mechanical way to hire people with specific
educational background irrespective of their real value to the in situation.
Success stories of large banking companies have been evident of the fact that HRM is quite different
from management of physical assets. Human brain has its own peculiar chemistry. Its strong sensory
and decision-making capacity has to be greatly emphasized by the employers. The work force
constituting all levels of employees are constantly thinking in many dimensions.
On the one hand it is the assigned duty and task they are to perform and for which they are paid by
their employer, on the other they think of their long run goals and objectives.
By no means, their brains can be controlled to thing beyond the current situation of employment.
Managing this educated, skillful and trustworthy work force is to an easy job. A few of the current
challenges faced by the banking industry in terms of human resource management may be the
following.
Effective work force: A time-consuming and hectic job is to bunt the right talent. Its just sitting by the

river and waiting for the right fist to catch. Higher the professional value of the vacancy,tougher is the
search.

Identifying the right stuff followed by negotiation is the element within makes the job tough for the
employer. Banks are keenly interested to fill up two types of breads of professionals.
Ones who are outstanding professionals with high job hopping attitude these are those who come in
work for some time and then leave for better prospects. Others are those who are keenly picked up
trained and are some how retained to be developed as future management within the bank.
Management trainees are a growing popular phenomenon where freshly qualified business graduates
are engaged by banks and a certain percentage of these well equipped professionals stay back within
the organization to grow into the footsteps of senior mangers.
Q.3(b) Differentiate between information technology(IT) and information systems (IS).
Ans. Information system is a large umbrella referring to systems designed to create, store, manipulate
disseminate information. Example f an information system is a pencil an a piece of paper. The two
objects themselves are just tools, but together they create a system for writing (information)
The term information systems has been around a lot longer than computer, or the term information
technology, these days the two are sometimes thought to be synonymous, but that, in most cases, is a
misconception.
Information technology falls under the information systems umbrella, but has noting to do with system
per say IT deals with the technology involved in the systems themselves., an information system like
wiki.answers.com contains many information technology. Servers, server operating systems, we-server
software (HS,Apache,et al) and code written for the we-server software (PHP,C#, VB,PERL, Ruby,et
al) Even your computer and browser make p part of this information system,Like the pencil and paper
example. Each one of the mentioned parts of this information system in itself is an information
technology.
The terms information system and information technology are often used interchangeably by many
however the reality is that they refer to different conceptional information system refer to a set of
interrelated components, people, hardware, database , network technologies and policies and
procedures, that collect (or retrieve), process, store and distribute information to support decision
making and control in an organization. An information system is mostly viewed as a human activity
(social) system, which may or may not involve the use of computer systems. Software, networks, data
management and telecommunication,which are necessary for the system to operate. Basically it entails
the current media by which information is transferred within an organization. Information technology's
is therefore one of many tools components within information system framework. Computer hardware
is physical equipment used for input, processing and output activities in an information
system.computer software consists of detailed,per-programmed instructions that control and coordinate
the work of computer hardware components in an information system. Storage technology includes
both physical media and software government the storage and organization of data for use in an
information system.
A network is the line of two or more computers to share data or resources, such as a printer. All of
these technologies represent resources that can be shared throughout the organization and condtitute
the firms information technology.

Q.4 Write notes on the followings:

Input technologies.
Ans: Input to computers consists of sensed information about physical properties (such as position),
velocity, temperature, or pressure) of people,places ,or things example the computer mouse senses the
motion imparted by the users hand. But using an input deviceis a multifaceted experience that
encompasses all of the following:
The Physical sensor:
On mechanical mice, this typically consists of a rolling ball and optical encoder mechanism.
Feedback to the user:
for the mouse, feedback includes the visible cursor on the display ,as well as the clickingsound and the
tactile feel of the mouse buttons.
Ergonomic and industrial design: this may include color, shape, texture, and the number and placement
of buttons.
Interaction techniques:
Interaction techniques are the hardware and software elements that together provide a way for the user
to accomplish a task.
Input technologies Properties
On the surface, the variety of pointing devices is bewildering. Fortunately there is a limited set of
properties shared by many devices. These properties help a designer know what to ask about a device
and anticipate potential problems.
Resolution and Accuracy: The resolution of a sensor describes how many unique units of measure can
be addressed.
Mice:Douglas englebart and colleagues invented the mouse in 167 at the Stanford Research Institute.
The long endurance of the mouse stands out in an era where technologies have become obsolete like
last year's fashions, but the mouse is still in use because its properties match the demands of desktop
graphical interfaces. For typical pointing tasks on a computer, one can point with the mouse about as
well as with the hand furthermore, the mouse is stable:unlike a stylus used on a tablet, the mouse does
not all over when released, saving the use the time of picking it up again later. The mouse also doesn't
tend to move when you press a button, and the muscle tension required to press the button has minimal
ten to move when you press a button, and the muscle tension required to press the button has minimal
interference with cursor motion compared to other devices.
Trackballs:
a trackball is essentially a mechanical mouse that has been truned upside down.
Since the trackball rolls in place,it stays at a fixed place and has a small working space(footprint). A
trackball can also be mounted for use on an angled working surface.
The buttons are located to the side of the ball, which can make them awkward to reach and hold while
rolling the ball.
Isometric joysticks:
An isometric joystick (such as the IBM Track point) is a foreseeing joystick that returns to center when
released. Isometric joysticks require significant practice to achieve expert cursor control,but when
integrated with a keyboard, it takes less time compared to the mouse for the user to acquire the joystick
while typing, or to return to typing after pointing.
Isotonic joysticks:
Isotonic joysticks sense the angle of deflection of the joystick, so most isotonic joysticks move form
their center position. By contrast many isometric joysticks,are stiff, with little or no “ give” to provide
the user feedback of how he or she is moving the joystick.
Tablets:
Tablets (known variously as touch tablets, graphics tablets, or digitizing tablets) sense the absolute
position of a pointing device on the tablets might be use with the bare finger, a stylus or a puck1
Tablets can operate in absolute mode, where there is a fixed C:D gain between the tablet surface and
the display, or inrelative mode, where the tablets might responds only to motion of the stylus.
Pen input Devices:
The issues noted above for touchscreens also apply to pen input on handheld furthermore, user often
want to touch the screen using a bare finger as well as using the stylus so commonly used commands
should be large enough to accommodate this.input devices are used to compete elemental tasks on a
computer. One way of reasoning about input devices and interaction techniques is to view the device or
technique in light of the tasks that it can express.
Compound Tasks and Clunking
While elemental tasks are useful to find commonalities between input devices and different ways of
accomplishing the same task on different systems, the level of analysis at which one specifies
“elemental” tasks is not well defined. For example a mouse can indicate an integral position on the
screen, but an Etch-a- Sketch separates positioning into two sub-tasks by providing a single knob for x
and single knob for y.
Multi-channel Input Devices
Because many users tasks represent parts of larger compound tasks, it is sometimes discoverable to
provide a multi-channel input device, which provides multiple controls on a single device. For
example, many mice include dedicated scrolling devices such as wheels, isometric joysticks, or touch
pads, one advantage of such devices is that they eliminate the need to remove visual attention from
one's work, as is necessary when moving the cursor to interact with standard scroll bars.
Multi-channel Input Devices
Multiple Degree-of-freedom Input Devices (Multi-DOF) devices sense multiple dimensions of spatial
position or orientation, unlike multi-channel devices,which provide extra input dimensions as separate
controls. Examples include mice that can sense they are rotated or titled and magnetic trackers that
sense six degree-of-freedom motion (3D position and 3D orientation).

Q.4
Ans. 2 Types of Telecommunications Network
Telecommunications network A telecommunications network is a network of
telecommunications links and nodes arranged so that messages may be passed from one
part of the network to another over multiple links and through various nodes.

Telecommunications network links (including their endpoints or "nodes") may in turn

be built out of hierarchical transmission systems.

Examples of telecommunications networks are:Computer network the Internet Network-

The internet network is a global ?etwork of networks The internet is connected via
an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and then becomes part of a network. This network
then connects to a larger corporate network that interconnects with several other
similar networks through Network Access Points (NAPs).
the Public switched telephone network
the global Telex network
the aeronautical ACARS network
Telecommunication Network Components

All telecommunication networks are made up of five basic components that are
present in each network environment regardless of type or use. These basic
components include terminals, telecommunications processors, telecommunications
channels, computers, and telecommunications control software.
Terminals are the starting and stopping points in any telecommunication network
environment. Any input or output device that is used to transmit or receive data
can be classified as a terminal component.
Telecommunications processors are support data transmission and reception between
terminals and computers by providing a variety of control and support functions.
convert data from digital to analog and back)
Telecommunications channels are the way by which data is transmitted and received.
Telecommunication channels are created through a variety of media of which
the most popular include copper wires and coaxial cables.
Fiber-optic cables are increasingly used to bring faster and more robust
connections to businesses and homes.
In a telecommunication environment computers are connected through media to
perform their communication
assignments.
Telecommunications control software is present on all networked computers and is
responsible for controlling network activities and functionality.
Early networks were built without computers, but late in the 20th century their
switching centers were computerized or the networks replaced with computer
networks.

Types of Telecommunication Networks

In its most basic form a network is an interconnected system of things or people.
From a technical standpoint a network is a data communication system that
interconnects computer systems at different sites, or the connection of two or more
computers using a communications system.

Most networks can be classified into one of five different types. These include
wide area networks (WAN), local area networks, (LAN), virtual private networks
(VPN), client/server networks, network computing, and peer-to-peer networks.
Wide Area Network (WAN)

Any network that encompasses a large geographic area is referred to as a WAN or

Wide Area Network. Many large businesses and government agencies use WANs to keep
their employees and citizens connected as well as provide a quick
and effective way to send and receive information.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A MAN or Metropolitan Area Network is a network that covers a region, often a

metropolitan area that is bigger than a Local Area Network and smaller than a Wide
Area Network and consists of several interconnected LANs. This network often
serves regional businesses that have several locations throughout the region or
entire cities. With this configuration, a MAN often is then connected to larger WAN
networks.

There are three features that differentiate MANs from LANs or WANs:

1. The area of the network size is between LANs and WANs.

The MAN will have a physical area between 5 and 50 km in
diameter.

2. MANs do not generally belong to a single organization.

The equipment that interconnects the network, the links, and the MAN itself are
often owned by an association or a network provider that provides or leases the
service to others.

3. A MAN is a means for sharing resources at high speeds

within the network. It often provides connections to WAN
networks for access to resources outside the scope of the
MAN.
Campus Area Network (CAN)

A CAN or Campus Area Network is a network that is restricted to a small geographic

area such as a building complex or a college campus. It is smaller than a
Metropolitan Area Network but larger than a Local Area Network. The CAN
incorporates several LANs and usually has connections to a MAN or WAN.
Local Area Network (LAN)

Similar in many ways to WANs; Local Area Networks or LANs are responsible for
connecting computers in a much smaller limited physical area. A good example of a
LAN would be a hotel's wireless Internet offering which is self-contained
within their own facility.

There are multiple standards for Local Area Networks.

Examples include IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) or ITU-T G.hn (using
existing home wires, such as power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables).
Personal Area Network (PAN)

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is a network that is restricted to the area of a

person's body. It is much smaller than Local Area Network. It typically
incorporates ad hoc connections to other PANs or directly to BlueTooth
devices.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Virtual Private Networks or VPNs are a type of network that builds on the concept
of a WAN however relies upon the internet and an encrypted connection mechanism to
establish a secure environment for internal or external employees or customers.
Client/Server Network

The Client-Server network architecture continues to be the main architectural

choice for most enterprise network computing. In a client/server environment the
client (i.e. PC) relies on a LAN to connect with a back office network server that
is responsible for the connection, retrieval, and storage of data and other
critical company or personal information.

Network Computing

Network computing is a network architecture that has grown with the Internet and
resulting connection speeds. In a network computing architecture a computer uses
its web browser to connect to another network computer that actually is running the
application. A good example of this architecture in use is Google Docs, or
Microsoft Office online. Both services allow users the ability to login to Google
or Microsoft servers respectively and work similarly to how it would be performed
on their own computing environment.

Peer-to-Peer Network

Peer to peer networks are now beginning to be realized for the positive benefits
they provide and not as only used for the sharing of copyrighted material. Peer-to-
peer networks an be separated into two major types: Central Server and Pure.

In a central server environment one host server maintains all active connections
and shared information. When information is requested the central server informs
the user where they can receive the file and allows the connection directly to the
other PC to download. The best example of this type was the original Napster file
sharing service.

Q.5 (1) Why did Colin savery reject a relational database solution? Explain.
Ans.

The relational model for database management is a database model based on first-order predicate
logic,
Its central idea was to describe a database as a collection of predicates over a finite set of predicate
variables, describing constraints on the possible values and combinations of values. The content of the
database at any given time is a finite (logical) model of the database, i.e. a set of relations, one per
predicate variable, such that all predicates are satisfied. A request for information from the database (a
database query) is also a predicate.

Relational model concepts.

In the relational model, related records are linked together with a "key".
The purpose of the relational model is to provide a declarative method for specifying data and queries:
we directly state what information the database contains and what information we want from it, and let
the database management system software take care of describing data structures for storing the data
and retrieval procedures for getting queries answered.
IBM's original implementation of Codd's ideas was System R. There have been several commercial
and open source products based on Codd's ideas, including IBM's DB2, Oracle Database, Microsoft
SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and many others. Most of these use the SQL data definition and
query language. A table in an SQL database schema corresponds to a predicate variable; the contents
of a table to a relation; key constraints, other constraints, and SQL queries correspond to predicates.
However, it must be noted that SQL databases, including DB2, deviate from the relational model in
many details; Codd fiercely argued against deviations that compromise the original principle.

l Alternatives to the relational model

Other models are the hierarchical model and network model. Some systems using these older
architectures are still in use today in data centers with high data volume needs or where existing
systems are so complex and abstract it would be cost prohibitive to migrate to systems employing the
relational model; also of note are newer object-oriented databases.
A recent development is the Object-Relation type-Object model, which is based on the assumption that
any fact can be expressed in the form of one or more binary relationships. The model is used in Object
Role Modeling (ORM), and in Gellish English.
The relational model was the first database model to be described in formal mathematical terms.
Hierarchical and network databases existed before relational databases, but their specifications were
relatively informal. After the relational model was defined, there were many attempts to compare and
contrast the different models, and this led to the emergence of more rigorous descriptions of the earlier
models; though the procedural nature of the data manipulation interfaces for hierarchical and network
databases limited the scope for formalization

The fundamental assumption of the relational model is that all data is represented as mathematical n-
ary relations, an n-ary relation being a subset of the Cartesian product of n domains. In the
mathematical model, reasoning about such data is done in two-valued predicate logic, meaning there
are two possible evaluations for each proposition: either true or false (and in particular no third value
such as unknown, or not applicable, either of which are often associated with the concept of NULL).
Some think two-valued logic is an important part of the relational model, while others think a system
that uses a form of three-valued logic can still be considered relational.[citation needed][who?]
Data are operated upon by means of a relational calculus or relational algebra, these being equivalent
in expressive power.
The relational model of data permits the database designer to create a consistent, logical representation
of information. Consistency is achieved by including declared constraints in the database design,
which is usually referred to as the logical schema. The theory includes a process of database
normalization whereby a design with certain desirable properties can be selected from a set of logically
equivalent alternatives. The access plans and other implementation and operation details are handled
by the DBMS engine, and are not reflected in the logical model. This contrasts with common practice
for SQL DBMSs in which performance tuning often requires changes to the logical model.
The basic relational building block is the domain or data type, usually abbreviated nowadays to type. A
tuple is an ordered set of attribute values. An attribute is an ordered pair of attribute name and type
name. An attribute value is a specific valid value for the type of the attribute. This can be either a
scalar value or a more complex type.
A relation consists of a heading and a body. A heading is a set of attributes. A body (of an n-ary
relation) is a set of n-tuples. The heading of the relation is also the heading of each of its tuples.
A relation is defined as a set of n-tuples. In both mathematics and the relational database model, a set is
an unordered collection of unique, non-duplicated items, although some DBMSs impose an order to
their data. In mathematics, a tuple has an order, and allows for duplication. E.F. Codd originally

defined tuples using this mathematical definitionLater, it was one of great insights that using attribute
names instead of an ordering would be so much more convenient (in general) in a computer language
based on relations. This insight is still being used today. Though the concept has changed, the name
"tuple" has not. An immediate and important consequence of this distinguishing feature is that in the
relational model the Cartesian product becomes commutative.
A table is an accepted visual representation of a relation; a tuple is similar to the concept of row, but
note that in the database language SQL the columns and the rows of a table are ordered.[citation
needed]
A relvar is a named variable of some specific relation type, to which at all times some relation of that
type is assigned, though the relation may contain zero tuples.
The basic principle of the relational model is the Information Principle: all information is represented
by data values in relations. In accordance with this Principle, a relational database is a set of relvars
and the result of every query is presented as a relation.
The consistency of a relational database is enforced, not by rules built into the applications that use it,
but rather by constraints, declared as part of the logical schema and enforced by the DBMS for all
applications. In general, constraints are expressed using relational comparison operators, of which just
one, "is subset of" (?), is theoretically sufficient[citation needed]. In practice, several useful shorthands
are expected to be available, of which the most important are candidate key (really, superkey) and
constraints.

Q.5(2) How did the selection of an object-oriented DBMS address Bankers Trust's information
needs?
Ans.
An object database (also object-oriented database) is a database model in which information is
represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming.
Example of an object-oriented model.
Object databases are a niche field within the broader DBMS market dominated by relational database
management systems (RDBMS). Object databases have been considered since the early 1980s and
1990s but they have made little impact on mainstream commercial data processing, though there is
some usage in specialized areas.
When database capabilities are combined with object-oriented (OO) programming language
capabilities, the result is an object database management system (ODBMS).
Today? trend in programming languages is to utilize objects, thereby making OODBMS ideal for OO
programmers because they can develop the product, store them as objects, and can replicate or modify
existing objects to make new objects within the OODBMS. Information today includes not only data
but video, audio, graphs, and photos which are considered complex data types. Relational DBMS aren?
naively capable of supporting these complex data types.By being integrated with the programming
language, the programmer can maintain consistency within one environment because both the
OODBMS and the programming language will use the same model of representation. Relational
DBMS projects using complex data types would have to be divided into two separate tasks: the
database model and the application.
As the usage of web-based technology increases with the implementation of Intranets and extranets,
companies have a vested interest in OODBMS to display their complex data. Using a DBMS that has
been specifically designed to store data as objects gives an advantage to those companies that are
geared towards multimedia presentation or organizations that utilize computer-aided design others
have their own programming languages. ODBMSs use exactly the same model as object-oriented
programming languages.
lAdoption of object databases
Object databases based on persistent programming acquired a niche in application areas such as
engineering and spatial databases, telecommunications, and scientific areas such as high energy physics
and molecular biology. They have made little impact on mainstream commercial data processing,
though there is some usage in specialized areas of It is also worth noting that object databases held the
record for the World's largest database (being the first to hold over 1000 terabytes at Stanford Linear
Accelerator Center) and the highest ingest rate ever recorded for a commercial database at over one
Terabyte per hour.
Another group of object databases focuses on embedded use in devices, packaged software, and real-
time systems.

Technical features
Most object databases also offer some kind of query language, allowing objects to be found by a more
declarative programming approach. It is in the area of object query languages, and the integration of
the query and navigational interfaces, that the biggest differences between products are found. An
attempt at standardization was made by the ODMG with the Object Query Language, OQL.
Access to data can be faster because joins are often not needed (as in a tabular implementation of a
relational database). This is because an object can be retrieved directly without a search, by following
pointers. (It could, however, be argued that "joining" is a higher-level abstraction of pointer
following.)
Another area of variation between products is in the way that the schema of a database is defined. A
general characteristic, however, is that the programming language and the database schema use the
same type definitions.
Multimedia applications are facilitated because the class methods associated with the data are
responsible for its correct interpretation.
Many object databases, for example VOSS, offer support for versioning. An object can be viewed as
the set of all its versions. Also, object versions can be treated as objects in their own right. Some object
databases also provide systematic support for triggers and constraints which are the basis of active
databases.
The efficiency of such a database is also greatly improved in areas which demand massive amounts of
data about one item. For example, a banking institution could get the user's account information and
provide them efficiently with extensive information such as transactions, account information entries
etc. The Big O Notation for such a database paradigm drops from , greatly increasing efficiency in
these specific cases.

l Standards
The Object Data Management Group (ODMG) was a consortium of object database and object-
relational mapping vendors, members of the academic community, and interested parties. Its goal was
to create a set of specifications that would allow for portable applications that store objects in database
management systems. It published several versions of its specification. The last release was ODMG
3.0. By 2001, most of the major object database and object-relational mapping vendors claimed
conformance to the ODMG Java Language Binding. Compliance to the other components of the
specification was mixed. In 2001, the ODMG Java Language Binding was submitted to the Java
Community Process as a basis for the Java Data Objects specification. The ODMG member companies
then decided to concentrate their efforts on the Java Data Objects specification. As a result, the ODMG

disbanded in 2001.
Many object database ideas were also absorbed into and have been implemented in varying degrees in
object-relational database products.
In 2005 Cook, , and Rosenberger proposed to drop all standardization efforts to introduce additional
object-oriented query but rather use the OO programming language itsel Java and .NET, to express
queries. As a result, emerged. Similarly, Microsoft announced Language Integrated Query (LINQ) and
DLINQ, an implementation of in September 2005, to provide close, language-integrated database
query capabilities with its programming languages C# and VB.NET 9.
In February 2006, the (OMG) announced that they had been granted the right to develop new
specifications based on the ODMG 3.0 specification and the formation of the Object Database
Technology Working Group (ODBT WG). The ODBT WG plans to create a set of standards that
incorporates advances in object database technology data management indexing), and data formats
and to include new features into these standards that support domains where object databases are being
adopted real-time systems).
On January 2007 the gave final recommendation status to the language. has enabled a new class of
applications that managed hierarchical data built around the that also provide many of the advantages
of object databases. In addition XRX applications benefit by transporting XML directly to client
applications such as without changing data structures.

lAdvantages and disadvantages

The main benefit of creating a database with objects as data is speed. OODBMS are faster than
relational DBMS because data stored in relational rows and columns but as objects Objects have a
many to many relationship and are accessed by the use of pointers. Pointers are linked to objects to
establish relationships. Another benefit of OODBMS is that it can be programmed with small
procedural differences without affecting the entire system. This is most helpful for those organizations
that have data relationships that aren? entirely clear or need to change these relations to satisfy the new
business requirements.
Benchmarks between OODBMSs and have shown that an OODBMS can be clearly superior for
certain kinds of tasks. The main reason for this is that many operations are performed using
navigational rather than declarative interfaces, and navigational access to data is usually implemented
very efficiently by following pointers.
Compared to relational databases another major advantage of OODBMSs is that they do not need any
and object marshaling to map the application object model to the database object model. In RDBMS,
this mapping is also source of the impedance mismatch, which does not occur when using OODBMS.
Avoiding this layer also improves performance and saves effort for implementation and maintenance.
Critics of navigational database-based technologies like ODBMS suggest that pointer-based techniques
are optimized for very specific "search routes" or viewpoints; for general-purpose queries on the same
information, pointer-based techniques will tend to be slower and more difficult to formulate than
relational. Thus, navigation appears to simplify specific known uses at the expense of general,
unforeseen, and varied future uses. However, with suitable language support, direct object references
may be maintained in addition to normalised, indexed aggregations, allowing both kinds of access;
furthermore, a persistent language may index aggregations on whatever its content elements return
from a call to some arbitrary object access method, rather than only on attribute value, which allows a
query to 'drill down' into complex data structures.
Other things that work against ODBMS seem to be the lack of interoperability with a great number of
tools/features that are taken for granted in the SQL world, including but not limited to industry
standard connectivity, reporting tools, tools, and backup and recovery standards.[citation needed]
Additionally, object databases lack a formal mathematical foundation, unlike the relational model, and
this in turn leads to weaknesses in their query support. However, this objection is offset by the fact that
some ODBMSs fully support SQL in addition to navigational access, Objectivity/SQL++, Matisse,
and InterSystems CACH?. Effective use may require compromises to keep both paradigms in sync.
In fact there is an intrinsic tension between the notion of encapsulation, which hides data and makes it
available only through a published set of interface methods, and the assumption underlying much
database technology, which is that data should be accessible to queries based on data content rather
than predefined access paths. Database-centric thinking tends to view the world through a declarative
and attribute-driven viewpoint, while OOP tends to view the world through a behavioral viewpoint,
maintaining entity-identity independently of changing attributes. This is one of the many impedance
mismatch issues surrounding OOP and databases.
Although some commentators have written off object database technology as a failure, the essential
arguments in its favor remain valid, and attempts to integrate database functionality more closely into
object programming languages continue in both the research and the industrial communities.
Q.5 (3) what are the advantages and risks of an object database solution? Explain.
Ans. Once you understand the potential legacy data and legacy database design problems that you may
face , the next step is to determine how you will address the problems. Table 1 compares and contrasts
several strategies you have at your disposal. An important point to remember is that your project team
isn't the only team facing these sorts of challenges. Almost every organization has such problems. As a
result, a very large market exists for tools to help deal with legacy databases, a sampling of which I've
listed in Table 2. Their basic features are:
• Extraction of legacy data
• Transformation of the legacy data to "cleanse" it
• Loading of that data into a new data schema that is more robust
Products that support all of these features are referred to as ETL (extract, transform, load) tools.
Although instruction on how to implement these three strategies is clearly beyond the scope of this tip,
I can provide several words of advice:
• Do not underestimate the effort required. Data migration/improvement efforts, if
they can be done at all, very often prove to be projects (or series of projects) unto
themselves that often span several years. This is easily on the order of magnitude
of your organization's Year 2000 efforts.
• Think small. A series of small changes, or refactorings, is often preferable to a
single big-bang approach where you need to rerelease all of your organization's
applications at once. Martin Fowler's book Refactoring describes principles and
practices that should provide some insight into how to make incremental changes
to your legacy data design. (Many of his refactorings are geared to changing
object-oriented designs, but the fundamentals still apply.)
• Don't underestimate the effort required to address the problem.
• Consider the problem from an integration point of view.
• Did I mention not to underestimate the effort required?
Table 1. Strategies for mitigating legacy data problems
 • Strategy Advantages Disadvantages Create your own private database for new
attributes You have complete control over your database.

• You may be able to avoid conforming to legacy procedures within your

organization, speeding up development. Replication of common data likely.

• Unable to easily take advantage of the existing corporate, legacy data.

• May still be required to integrate with the legacy corporate database(s) via triggers,
programmed batch jobs, or ETL tools.

• Your team must have database expertise.

• Your project risks significant political problems because you may be perceived as not
being team players. Refactor your data schemaYou have a clean database design to
work with.

• Your database schema can be redesigned to reflect the needs of modern, object-
oriented and component-based technologies such as Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB).
This is very difficult to achieve.

• Legacy applications will need to be updated to reflect the new data schema.

• Need to identify and then fix all of your data-related problems, requiring significant
effort to achieve.

• You need to develop, and then follow, procedures to ensure that your database design
remains clean; otherwise you will end up in the same position again several years
from now. Encapsulate database access with stored procedures, views, data
classes/objects, or an APIEncapsulation, a clean access approach, can be presented
to application developers.Legacy applications should be rewritten to use the new
access approach to ensure integrity within the database.

• Significant effort may need to be made to implement your encapsulation strategy.

• Your encapsulation approach may become an architectural bottleneck.

• Depending on the range of technologies within your organization, you may not be able
to find one strategy that works for all applications.Design your objects to work with
the existing design as isYour objects work with the legacy database(s).Significant
redesign and coding are likely required for this to work.

• The actual problem, a poor database design, is not addressed and will continue to
affect future projects.

• May not be feasible depending on the extent of the mismatch between the legacy
database design and the requirements for your application.

• Performance is likely to be significantly impacted because of the resulting overhead

 of mapping your objects to the database and the transformations required to
support those mappings.

• Common approaches to persistence, such as EJB's container managed persistence (CMP) and
the use of a persistence layer/framework, is likely not an option if the mismatch is too great.
Table 2. Sample legacy data integration tools

Tool Company In formatic a Power Center InformaticaETI*Extract Evolutionary Technologies

InternationalInformation Logistics Network D2K Inc.DataStage XE Ascential SoftwareINTEGRITY
Data Re-Engineering Environment Vality Technology Inc.Trillium Control Center Trillium Software

Q.5(4) How did Bankers Trust minimize the risks of using an object DBMS for its new system?
Ans.n many ways, the database has become a commodity. Products differ on price, performance,
ease of database administration and functionality.
There is a huge choice of database management systems (DBMS), which includes packaged and open
source database suites. The main suppliers include Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Microsoft,
NCR Teradata, Oracle, Progress, SAS Institute and Sybase.
Analyst firm Gartner has identified the main database suppliers in Europe as Oracle, with a 40.8%
market share, IBM with 29.4%, and Microsoft with 14.9%. This gives the three companies more than
85% of the market, and all of them have enjoyed revenue growth over the past few years.

"Microsoft outpaced its two main rivals in terms of growth because of pent-up demand for SQL Server
2005, whereas Oracle had the largest incremental revenue increase year over year, growing revenue by
more than ?65.5m," said a Gartner report.
Oracle
The main Oracle database versions in use include Oracle 7, Oracle 8, Oracle 8i, Oracle 9i, and Oracle
10g, with Oracle Database 11g in beta. For Oracle, the database is a key part of its Fusion applications
platform, although it is possible to use rival databases with Oracle's business software.
Several versions of the Oracle database are available, with different pricing and features to reflect how
it may be used. The Standard Edition contains basic database functionality and is typically used on
servers running between one and four processors.
However, users running the Oracle database on servers with more than four CPUs must convert to an
Enterprise licence. Enterprise Edition has more features than the Standard Edition, particularly in the
areas of performance and security. Enterprise Edition has no memory limits and can utilise clustering
via Oracle Real Application Clusters software.
Also available are Express Edition, running on Windows and Linux Personal Edition, an enterprise
version with a single usage licence and Database Lite, which runs on mobile devices.
Oracle 10g user Powergen implemented the database along with Oracle Warehouse Builder to

centralise its customer information and analysis it to find out which customers were profitable and
which were unprofitable.
Mark Perrett, customer relationship management manager at the utility firm, said, "The datawarehouse
has become the centerpiece of our CRM infrastructure, allowing us to translate customer insight into
actionable activity that directly improves our customer relationships."
IBM DB2
IBM's DB2 is the second most popular DBMS. IBM now refers to its DB2 database as a "data server"
and, like the Oracle database, there are many flavors of the suite designed for a range of computers,
from mainframes to hand held devices.
DB2 version 9, codenamed Viper, is the latest incarnation of IBM's DBMS. IBM offers several
licensing arrangements that can allow users to avoid paying for database features they do not need.
DB2 versions include Workgroup, Workgroup Unlimited, and Enterprise Server Edition. The most
sophisticated edition for Linux, Unix and Windows is DB2 Datawarehouse Enterprise Edition (DB2
DWE). This edition is designed for a mixed workload, such as online transaction processing with
datawarehousing or business intelligence implementations.
DB2 DWE has several business intelligence features, such as extraction, transforming or loading, data
mining, online analytical processing acceleration, and inline analytics.
Watch manufacturer Fossil Partners has used DB2 integrated into its SAP enterprise resource planning
system for the past two years to make its global distribution network more efficient and add accessory
products such as belts, handbags, sunglasses and jewellery.
Mark Reynolds, director for IT infrastructure and operations at Fossil, said he was planning to move to
DB2 9, which has new features that make use of the latest My SAP suite.
Microsoft SQL Server
The third biggest selling database is Microsoft's SQL Server. Its growing popularity is partly down to
its native integration with the Windows Server software stack, and also because of the technologies it
uses, particularly in development, security and business intelligence.
There are four main versions of the latest edition, Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Express, Workgroup,
Standard and Enterprise. Other versions include Developer, Mobile and Compact.
One major user of the SQL Server database is London Underground, which has integrated its main
project management application, Primavera Enterprise 5.0, into a bespoke SQL Server 2000 database
called the Master Project Database.
This software, which runs on a powerful Compaq Proliant DL740 datacentre server, handles 1,700
simultaneous projects for London Underground.
Open source alternatives
Alongside the big three database products, Gartner said systems from smaller suppliers have also
grown in popularity, differentiating themselves by focusing on niche markets, such as embedded or
mobile DBMS.
The Linux operating system is also gaining increased acceptance among suppliers and users as a
database platform, according to Gartner, and many users are choosing it over Windows, Unix and
mainframe database platforms.
"Open source DBMS products continue to improve in terms of functionality and scalability, and
DBMS tool suppliers are beginning to provide support for these offerings," said Gartner.
Of the open source databases, Ingres, PostgreSQL and My SQL come out the best in Forrester
Research's product evaluation, according to senior analyst Noel Yuhanna.
"Many enterprises are turning to open source databases to reduce database management costs and avoid
supplier lock-in. The maturity of open source databases is at its highest level ever, with more choices,
better support and comprehensive ecosystems," he said.
Open source databases from Derby, Fire bird and Oracle are also strong performers, he added. "Ingres,
Oracle and PostgreSQL offer strong support for transactional processing, while Oracle and My SQL
offer strong support for embedded database platforms.
"For datawarehouses, none of the [open source] projects offer strong native data warehouse-related
features, but some third-party suppliers help fill the gap with their extended offering for open source
databases," said Yuhanna.
Another open source database rising in popularity is Enterprise DB, which claims to be able to run
Oracle-compatible applications at a lower cost. Enterprise DB users include Sony Entertainment and
Vonage, which have switched from commercial databases.
Measuring performance
Database performance is measured in several ways, and this can be useful in choosing the right
product. The main benchmark is the TPC-C from non-profit body the Transaction Performance
Processing Council (TPC), which measures online transaction processing performance.
The TPC benchmark aims to simulate real-world usage. A typical transaction would include updating a
database system for such things as inventory control (goods), airline reservations (services), or banking
(money).
In these environments, a number of customers or service representatives input and manage their
transactions via a terminal or desktop computer connected to a database. The TPC would typically
produce benchmarks that measure transaction processing and database performance in terms of how
many transactions a particular system and database can perform per unit of time.
The current top 10 TPC-C performance results include servers running IBM DB2 9, Oracle Database
10g and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 databases. At the time of writing, the top score was an IBM
System p5 595 server running DB2 9 producing 4,033,378 transactions per minute.
Other benchmarks include TPC-R and TPC-H for datawarehouses and decision support systems, and
TPC-W for web-based database systems.
Supplier-based benchmarks from the likes of Oracle are also available, and there are several open
source benchmarks, such as the Open Source Database Benchmark and PolePosition, an open source
Java framework for benchmarking databases.
Benchmarks can help users to select the right database, and this is essential because, once chosen, few
organizations will ever move off their platform, said Rob Hailstone, software infrastructure research
director at Butler Group.
"It is a pretty fraught thing to change a database. Once you have an established system, the last thing
you want to do is destabilise it," he said.

For users who do switch database platforms, migration issues can come from individual business
applications working in certain ways with particular databases databases requiring certain back-up and
recovery processes or having different ways of failing over.
"Databases are meant to be interoperable, but they all have their own operational procedures and
processes for storing data and so on. It should be a last ditch choice to change your database, although
there are sometimes good financial reasons for changing, such as licensing issues, or acquisition and
mergers," said Hailstone.
The way forward for databases is to have a virtualised master data management layer, which can feed
requests into a pool of databases, said Hailstone. This means it is less important where the data resides,
and it can be kept on several smaller databases arranged in a grid, which have in-built redundancy and
failover capabilities.
Adding another layer of software will have a performance hit, warned Hailstone, but it could give
smaller organisations a more cost effective alternative to running a larger, more expensive database
and having to back up their data at a datacentre.

Q.3(b)
Information Systems is a large umbrella referring to systems designed to create, store, manipulate, or
disseminate information. Example of an information system is a pencil and a piece of paper. The two
objects themselves are just tools, but together they create a system for writing (information). The term
Information systems has been around a lot longer than the computer, or the term information
technology. These days the two are sometimes thought to be synonymous, but that, in most cases, is a
misconception.

Information technology falls under the information systems umbrella, but has nothing to do with
systems per say. IT deals with the technology involved in the systems themselves, e.g. an information
system like contains many information technologies. Servers, server operating systems, web-server
software and code written for the web-server software . Even your computer and browser make up
part of this information system. Like the pencil and paper example, each one of the mentioned parts of
this information system in itself is an information technology.